


Bonds

by Grae_Wolf



Series: Batman Prompts [9]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Implied/Referenced Drug Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-01 02:40:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12146865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grae_Wolf/pseuds/Grae_Wolf
Summary: PTSDakaDamian and Jason bond over shared experiences.





	Bonds

I sit up gasping for air that my mind didn't think it had before.  _I'm okay, I'm okay. I'm above ground. I'm not in that freaking coffin._ I try to calm my breathing and drown out the laugh sounding in my ears and the phantom pains on my skin. I know I won't be getting anymore sleep tonight. I heave a sigh and swing my legs over the bed side. As I push the door to the roof open I spot him sitting on the edge with his head down.  _Damian..._ I move over to sit beside him. He twitches as I sit. We sit in silence for a few minutes. It actually startles me when he's the one that breaks it, "Was it this way with you?" It takes me a moment to realize what he's asking about.  _Oh._ Sometimes I forget that he died too. 

"The nightmares?" I question. He just nods. "Yeah, I have them too." He doesn't notice the present tense. 

"Do they ever go away?" his voice is barely more than a broken whisper.

"They haven't for me, but at the same time your return wasn't nearly as traumatizing as mine. You have people here for you. All I had was Talia."

"I suppose that is true." The silence this time stretches on for a few minutes. "You are the only one I can talk to about these things. You are the only one that doesn't push me or treat me like glass. The others-,"

"Try to get you to talk to them whether you want to or not. Yeah, they tried the same thing with me once they found out I was alive and stopped actively trying to kill them."

"Why do they do that?" 

"They think they're helping us by getting us to talk to them." 

"Why. It just makes us think about it more than we already were." 

I sigh, "I know, Dami. I can talk to them about it if you want. I can explain and get them to stop."

He shakes his head at me, "No, I'll do it in the morning." And we sit in silence and watch the sun rise. 

* * *

I walk into the manor exactly one week after the rooftop conversation. Dick had called me and said that Damian had locked himself in his room and refused to come out. They had asked him what he wanted and he replied, "I will not talk to you imbeciles! The only one of you that understands is Todd!" I walked towards his room and knocked. When there was no answer I knocked again and shouted, "Dami, it's me! open the door!" I could hear shuffling inside and the lock click. The door swing inward and the disheveled face of Damian al Ghul-Wayne appeared. He motioned for me to come in and locked the door after me. He sat on his bed and motioned for me to sit next to him. I slowly sank onto the bed and waited for him to talk. After a few moments a broken whisper pierced the air, "When will they go away? When will it all just go away?" 

"I don't think it ever will, Dami. It hasn't for me." The silence stretches on for a few moments before I break it again. "It's called PTSD. If you want, there's medication for it. I might help." 

"Did it help you?" 

"I haven't ever tried it." I can  _feel_ his stare. "It's best if you start it early. I didn't, I also have a not very good experience with any type of medication." This time it's a questioning stare. "My mom  was a drug addict. She would always call the drugs 'medication that I couldn't have'. Once when she was too drugged up to notice anything, I got into her stash. I thought it was candy and took some. I think it was five or six pills. I was unconscious for a week. I was _this_ close to an overdose. Mom was so drugged up that she didn't even think about hiding her stash from the five year old. I don't trust it and I don't want it. However, it might help you." 

"I'll make you a deal, Todd," I nod at him. "I try it and so do you. If it works for either of us, that one continues with it. If it doesn't then they quit. We each take it for a thirty day period then make judgment. Deal?" I was too shocked to do more than nod. I couldn't tell if he actually cared or just wanted to see if it worked on anyone other than himself. 

"What type and when do we start?" 

"We will talk to Father later and sort out all the details. For now, I am going to sleep and you are going to stay with me." I nod, again. "Good." With that he lays down and is out like a light. 


End file.
